Underneath

Prologue

The doors to the 1553 Greenwich Palace Throne Room burst open and two guards strode in. They had a man dragging between them. The man was dressed not for the sixteenth century, but rather the twenty-first. The man was wearing black trousers, a white shirt, a tweed jacket, and a dark maroon bow-tie. The Queen recognized him immediately.

"What have you brought this man here for?" She demanded of the guards, standing up and taking a step off her throne. "No, never mind," She continued, taking a step closer, "Drop him and leave. I have private business with this man."

The guards did as they were told and left the room, shutting the doors behind them. Queen Elizabeth I knelt down in front of the man. "You've regenerated since I saw you last, Doctor," she commented.

"I've never met Queen Elizabeth I," The Doctor said, his eyes trained on the ground.

"No," Elizabeth agreed, "But you have met me. We were best friends once, Theta."

The Doctor's head snapped up at the mention of his Gallifreyan University nickname. "Iota," he muttered, bringing a hand up to touch her face, "How? I mean, you died. I watched it happen. You were shot by a Dalek and then you just sort of... disappeared. There wasn't even a regeneration."

"I must have been transported during regeneration by accident," Iota replied, "Because I woke up an infant known as Elizabeth. Though I must admit, I really do prefer being known as 'Constable'. Gives you an aura of importance."

"And being Queen of England doesn't?" The Doctor asked.

"Oh, shush you," Elizabeth replied, moving to sit instead of kneel. "What regeneration are you on, Doctor? How many have I missed?"

"I'm on my eleventh," he answered, "You missed nine and ten." He paused, moving so that he was sitting and leaning against the throne room wall. "I assume you're still on your ninth?"

"I am," The Constable answered, "It's quite unnerving, to know that the last time we met we were both on our eighth."

The Doctor chuckled, "Well, I was on my War Doctor. I suppose that makes this my twelfth. I hadn't really identified myself as The Doctor then, though."

The Constable smiled and stood up, reaching a hand down to help the Doctor up. "Come on, Theta," she said with a wide grin, "We've got to get moving."

"Get moving?" The Doctor asked incredulously, "You can't go anywhere. You're Queen Elizabeth, now. You've got a role to play."

"But what happens when I 'die'?" She countered, "I'll just regenerate. And you know how people from this century are, Doctor. They'll just kill me again in the middle of my regeneration. Then I'll be dead for good. Besides, these dresses are really itchy and the corsets are killing me."

The Doctor sighed, "Alright, I suppose we can go." The Constable grinned and headed out of the room, not waiting up for The Doctor. He caught up soon enough, and they left the palace throne room together.

"I like what you've done with yourself," The Doctor told her as they walked the streets toward the TARDIS, "This regeneration's beautiful."

"Doctor," Constable sighed, "You say that every time."

"And it's true every time. I mean, look at you. 5' 5", give or take. You've got this gorgeous light brown hair. And your eyes. Oh, this regeneration has my favorite of your eyes."

The Constable grinned, "Thank you, Doctor. That's quite kind of you."

The Doctor smiled back and wrapped an arm around The Constable, pulling her closer. "What else am I here for?" he asked, "We're best friends."

The Constable smiled as they reached the TARDIS, "I've really missed you."

"You've missed me?" The Doctor replied as he unlocked the TARDIS, "It's only been twenty years for you. You're still in your eight hundreds. Look at me. I'm nine hundred and seven."

The Constable rolled her eyes and stepped into the TARDIS. "Oh," she gasped, "It's been so long." She walked around the perimeter of the console, stroking it as she went. "I've missed you, old girl. I've missed you so, so much."

The Doctor smiled, "She says she's got a room for you right across from mine. Right where it was before the war. You'll find all the stuff you can ever need in it. Actually, I do believe it was there the whole time. Sexy never took it out. So all of your old stuff should still be in there."

The Constable's eyes widened and she ran off towards her room, hiking her dress up to keep from tripping. She came to her room, noticing that it still had her nickname, Iota, written on it in Circular Gallifreyan, and burst in.

The room looked just like it had before the Time War. All of her books were there, all of her jewelry and clothes were still there (along with some more, thanks to the TARDIS), and all of it was untouched. The Constable looked around the room, tears threatening to spill over.